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- Feb 11, 2007
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You are lazy, money-hungry teaching staff `
2009-04-19 13:51:21
By Robert Ochieng
By Robert Ochieng
The University of Dar es Salaam Vice Chancellor Prof Rwekaza Mukandala this week tore apart his lecturers, calling them lazy after the latter blamed `semesterization` for being responsible for the declining educational standards at the university.
Prof Mukandala`s heavy censure came amid a discussion period after presentation of academic papers by the university's History Department's members of staff at the just concluded Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival Week.
According to the lecturers, various departments at the university are currently experiencing multiple problems ranging from understaffing to inadequate teaching and learning resources to over registration of students, which have severely stretched the limited resources available.
These, among other critical issues, they said, have taken toll on the quality of education offered at the country's oldest higher learning institution.
They called upon the university management to take a serious look into the issues with a view of revamping, overhauling and even detaching some programmes in order to reverse the situation to the rapturous applause by students.
Brooding over all the while, Prof Mukandala pensively sat in the midst of the attentive audience.
With his neck slightly angled, he held his head between his palms, making great effort to conceal the disgust that was boiling within him as he took in assailments from his subordinates.
At the close of the session, he seized the opportunity and lashed out at the lecturers, accusing them of being unable to even manage their own time.
``Time and again you have been reminded to submit revised curricula of the programmes you teach, but out of sheer laziness, deadlines come and go with no one living up to his responsibility. We currently have almost 1,200 faculties, but only about five or six faculties have submitted theirs,`` a visibly agitated VC thundered.
Prof Mukandala took them to task to account for how they spent their time running from one institution to another, claiming to be teaching while the truth is that they are hungrily chasing after money.
``How can you possibly teach here for two hours, head to IJMC (Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication), teach for another two hours, and mind you, that is privately, before you go and lecture at Kijotonyama, another two hours. In the evening you board a bus to Dodoma where you offer a two-hour lecture, and on your way back, you branch off to SUA (Sokoine University of Agriculture), another two hours?" he posed to the bemusement of the audience.
The VC pointed out that they were simply not according their duties the seriousness they (duties) deserve. He warned them to stop lying, and instead face up to the challenges like academicians that they are.
Prof Mukandala went on: ``University is an all-too-important institution that has to run. I can't fire everybody because there will be no one to do what needs to be done here.``
At one point he became a wise counselor, at another he assumed a father figure status, reminding the audience that a university operates with numerous power centres, and each seeking special attention.
``Decisions that we make are always compromised by these power centres, but we never abdicate our responsibilities,`` the university administrator pointed out.
With time he regained his composure and said that the lecturers need not waste their time whining, but instead help where possible to find means and ways of solving problems facing the university.
SOURCE: Sunday Observer